


Side Trip

by afteriwake



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Queen of the Damned (2002)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-20
Updated: 2012-09-20
Packaged: 2017-11-14 15:34:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/516876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On her way to the concert in Death Valley, Jesse takes a side trip to Sunnydale.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Side Trip

She stepped off the plane in LAX. She knew, in all honesty, that she should go to see Lestat, to find out why there was this connection. But then her eyes looked up and she saw a flight to Sunnydale. She felt a pull towards that flight, and decided to just let herself go there.

It was a little over a week until the concert. She would get back to Los Angeles in time, she was sure. David had told her never to ignore a feeling like the one she was having now, and for once, Jesse thought David Talbot had said the right thing. Of course, David was still in England, probably only just finding out the real extent of her plans.

She'd heard of Sunnydale before, looking through the voluminous records at the Talamasca in London. There were so many documented cases of vampires and other ghouls and monsters, mostly because of the Hellmouth, El Boca De Inferno, that was there.

But lately there had been more non-human victims than there had been human victims. Reports were sketchy, since the Talamascans only observed and did not interfere, but it seemed that there was a legendary Slayer working there. Who she was, what she looked like was unknown, only that she was young and had already died once, only to be brought back to life and create the change in the order of Slayers.

Now, there were two Chosen Ones, an oxymoron of sorts. One was still out and about. That was the mysterious one. The second slayer, Faith Lehane, was in a women's prison serving time for a crime, Jesse just didn't remember which. She'd never thought she'd ever see Sunnydale, so she hadn't studied the findings from the city very much, focusing instead on New Orleans and Lestat.

But tonight, when the plane would touch down at 6:28 PM, she'd set foot in one of the places the Talamasca wanted to know more about.

\---

Spike was hungry. If it wasn't for the damn chip, he'd go out and hunt. He was in a foul mood after his latest encounter with the damned Slayer.

For once, he'd offered to help, and all he wanted in return was enough money to get to Death Valley. They just laughed at him. They had no idea how important it was for him to get to The Vampire Lestat's concert there.

None of the Scoobies had paid much attention to Lestat the vampire, but they loved The Vampire Lestat. In fact, Buffy constantly played their CD. Spike actually didn't mind. After he had read Interview With A Vampire, he realized that the other race of vampires was deciding to spill their secrets.

Yes, he thought, the other race. The more "superior" race. The ones who had to keep their damned queen safe so they wouldn't disappear. Thank...someone...that Spike was of the different, "inferior" race of vampire.

He'd met Lestat, once. In London, in one of those invitation only vampire clubs, a long time ago before Lestat went underground. That was how Spike knew about Akasha and the other vampire race. Lestat was fascinated about this other race of vampires, the race that came from the demons that had inhabited the Earth before the humans.

Spike's race.

That was why Spike had liked him. Despite the fact the Lestat was a spoiled brat, he was eager to listen. Spike had an outlet for all the stories that Angelus and Darla had told him about their order, about all the demon history he'd learned about during the daylight hours while the others slept.

And Lestat reciprocated, telling him about Akasha and Emil, about Marius and Louis, about his adventures with the mad Nicholas and his time as a mortal in France.

But all too briefly, their friendship was over. Lestat had to leave; he'd been rash and left a small clue for the Talamasca, an organization he both feared and admired, and they were in town. In fact, he'd advised Spike to leave as well, which was just what he did, taking the others with.

But before Lestat left, he told Spike to find him again, should they both still exist, and they could continue their conversation.

Spike shook his head to clear all those thoughts out of his head. When Willow had talked about Interview With A Vampire, Spike had gone and picked up a copy. He read through it voraciously, realizing that Lestat was a central character, and that there was a lot about Lestat that he didn't know.

Of course, there was a lot about William the Bloody that Lestat hadn't known about, either...

And this last year, upon hearing Lestat's voice singing those songs about his existence post turning, he knew the vampire was above ground again, biding his time for something important. And with the publication of The Vampire Lestat, things had clicked for Spike. Lestat had big plans, and he wanted to be a part of them.

That was why he wanted to go to Death Valley. Even the vampires in Sunnydale wanted to go after him, not that they would be any match for Lestat. He wanted to thank Lestat, to pick up the conversation they'd had all those years ago, and to warn him that it just wasn't his own race of vampires that wanted him dead.

He was so busy thinking and trying to figure out how to get the money to go that he wasn't watching where he was going.

\---

Jesse had no idea where she was going.

She still felt the pull, and she followed it. She took a cab into the heart of downtown, or at least that's where she thought she was. She got out and looked around, noticing how the people almost ran to the safety of the homes nearby.

Yes, this is definitely a demon infested town, she thought to herself, pulling her jacket a little tighter, looking around at the stuccoed buildings. She even saw a magic shop and smiled. If she had some time the next morning before her flight back to Los Angeles, she may go there and see what they had to offer.

She was so busy staring at the magic shop that she didn't notice the blonde walking towards her at a breakneck pace.

They collided with a great amount of force, hard enough for both of them to go flying backwards, even though Jesse had been standing still.

"What the bloody hell?" Spike muttered. "Sorry, love."

Jesse shook her head, her red hair moving slightly with the action. "It's okay."

"My bleedin' head's not hurting," Spike muttered again, shaking his own head. He stood up and offered Jesse his hand. "Least I can do."

She took his hand, and then dropped it. She knew that feeling, hands that were freezing cold. And that look in his eyes....

He was a vampire, just like Lestat.

Spike sighed. "Yes, I'm a bloody vampire. Now do you want my help up or what?"

Jesse, while shocked, took his hand and pulled herself up. "What...who..."

"Name's Spike." He took his hand away. "And if you'll excuse me, I'm off to go find a pawn shop of some sort." He started to brush past her when she grabbed his arm.

"Why?"

Spike turned around and looked at her. "Aren't you scared?"

"A little."

"How refreshingly honest," Spike muttered. "I'm off to go pawn this jacket so I can go get some money to go the Death Valley."

"To see Lestat?"

"Yeah."

"To kill him, like the rest of the vampires?"

Spike stared at her. "I think it's about time for you to tell me who you are and how you know about other vampires." He motioned to a nearby bench. "Sit."

Jesse sat down, looking up at Spike. "I was at the Admiral's Arms one night..."

"That's an invite only place, love, so how'd you get in?"

"Said I was with Lestat, only I didn't realize how much he was hated."

"That's what he gets for spilling secrets on his race of vampires."

"His race?" Jesse looked at Spike, a puzzled look on her face.

Spike sighed and sat down next to her. "Yeah, love, there's two races of vampires. There's his race, the ones that don't change when they feed and are damn near impervious. And then there's my race, who change and are able to be killed and are usually chased by the blasted Slayer. The Slayer leaves his type of vampire alone, lucky bastards, because they aren't as big on destruction as my kind are."

"How do you know all this?"

"Talked to Lestat about a hundred or so years ago. Swapped information, I guess you'd say."

Jesse took a deep breath. "Why doesn't the Talamasca know about you?"

"The...Talamasca. Bloody hell, you would be one of them, wouldn't you?" Spike looked at her in disgust. "That's it, conversation's over. Go back to bloody old England."

"Wait...I quit."

"Why?" Spike asked, the disgust in his face changing to curiosity.

"There's some...connection...between Lestat and I. I was going to go to Los Angeles to see him, before the concert, and then at LAX I felt this pull to come here."

Spike nodded. He didn't speak for a few moments, until he said, "We met in 1883. I'd only been a vampire for about three years. I come from the Order of Aurelis, one of the most powerful groups of vampires around. There's only two of us around, now."

He cleared his throat, then got up and started to pace. "I went to the Admiral's Arms one night. The hunting had been bad, and a mate of mine was a regular there. He'd told me if I ever needed a willing meal to go. So, I went. And there I met Lestat."

"What was he like?"

"A cocky little bastard. But he was lonely. Wasn't interested in the food there, more the company. But the others shied away from him. So when I sat next to him and struck up a conversation with him, he was...hooked, I guess."

Spike fumbled in his jacket pocket for his cigarettes and his lighter. Finding them, he tapped a cigarette out of the hard pack, then stuck it between his lips and lit up. "Oh, we talked about everything. I told him everything I heard my sire, grandsire and great-grandsire talk about. The Order, the way our race came into being..."

"How did it happen?"

"We come from the demons that inhabited the earth before the humans. The humans eventually drove most of them out, but not all. They also created the Slayer, the bane of our existence." He took a long drag on his cigarette. "We were here first, you know. But since we have so many weaknesses and a mortal enemy chasing our arses, we're the inferior race."

"And what did he tell you?"

"He told me about...well, about Marius, and how he was looking for him. And he told me about Armand and Louis and Claudia, and his mother Gabrielle. That was something else we had in common; turned our mothers and watched them become totally different." He paused. "And he told me about Akasha."

Jesse watched as he paced. "What about her?"

"How he woke her up in...1789, I think he said. And that if she dies then they all die. Well, her and her husband, Emil. That's their main weakness. I think it's a worse one than the Slayer."

"You talk as if you know the Slayer."

"I do. I help her."

Jesse looked surprised. "Why?"

"Partly because I fancy her. Mostly because I got a chip stuck in my head and I can't kill humans. Can't harm a bloody hair on their heads, actually. Hence the remark I made when I bumped into you."

Jesse nodded. "Why do you want to see Lestat?"

"To warn him. He didn't just piss off his own race. My type of vampires are afraid people are going to come after all vampires, whether they're superior or inferior." Spike shrugged. "He said if we were both still around, we'd pick up our conversation. I figured warning him would be a great ice breaker."

"What's stopping you?"

"Lack of cash. Helping the Slayer...it's a volunteer gig. One I'm seriously considering quitting. She just doesn't understand me, and I'm tired of being trod upon like a bloody welcome mat."

Jesse reached into her pocket and pulled out her wallet. "It's not much, but..." She handed him $100.

Spike looked at the money, then shook his head. "If I have to, I'll go to Los Angeles. My sire's up there, being all Mr. Good Guy and helping the hopeless."

Jesse thought for a moment. "What if I tell him?"

Spike looked at her. "Why do you want to help me help him? You were a Talamascan."

"Whose job it was to observe and not got involved. Well, there's this connection between Lestat and I. I want to find out what it is. And if that means I get to help save his life then so be it."

"Tell him, then. I'll stay here, try and deter as many vamps from Sunnydale as I can. I'll dust them personally, if I have to."

Jesse nodded, then looked at her watch. "I need to find a place to stay for the night. My flight leaves in the morning."

"I'd offer the hospitality of my crypt, but I doubt you'd get a night's sleep."

Jesse smiled slightly. "That's okay." She held out her hand. "I'll tell him."

"Well, be careful. You're one of the few humans I've had an interesting conversation with in a long time."

The slight smile blossomed. "I will. Maybe I'll come back, someday."

"I'll be here."

**\--- 6 Months Later ---**

"Look, Slayer, it's not that bad. Honest." He let Buffy's shirt fall back down. "Besides, with your Slayer healing and all, you won't even have a scratch by the end of the week."

Buffy shook her head. "What I need is a long hot bath and a massage."

"I'll give the latter if I can be company during the former."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Spike...no."

Spike carefully put an arm around her shoulders. "Whatever, Slayer. I'll win this argument eventually."

"Sure you will. And I'm the vampire Lestat."

"I thought that was who I was."

Both Buffy and Spike turned around. Suddenly Spike began to grin. "Lestat!"

"Nice to see you survived the last hundred or so years, William."

"It's Spike, now."

"Much nicer." He turned to Buffy. "The famous Slayer, I presume?"

"You aren't really Lestat," Buffy said.

"Actually, love, he is," Spike said. "I told you I knew him."

"I thought you were lying!"

"Why'd you think I wanted to go to Death Valley so badly?" Suddenly, Spike turned back to Lestat. "How is Jesse?"

"I'm okay," Jesse said, appearing at Lestat's side. Spike reached out and touched her hand, shaking his head.

"You too?"

Jesse laughed. "It's all right, Spike. It's what I wanted." She reached out and touched his cheek. "I didn't get to tell him, not in time."

"What happened?"

"Akasha," Lestat said simply. Spike nodded.

Buffy raised her hand. "I'm lost here."

Jesse smiled at her. "My name is Jesse. I was a member of the Talamasca, an organization that recorded paranormal incidents."

"And now you're a vampire," Buffy said flatly.

"Yes, now I'm a vampire. My Aunt Maharet was one of the first vampires, and I was the last human in our family."

"Of your race," Spike said, and Lestat grinned.

"Yes, of our race." He shook his head. "I turned her. I had to kill her for Akasha, but I couldn't. After Akasha died, I turned her."

"Wait a sec. Thought if Akasha died, you all did?"

"My aunt took her place," Jesse said. "She's a living statue now. Marius has her hidden somewhere safe."

"After she became a vampire, we went to visit her former boss. And then I'm rather sure that Marius paid him a visit afterwards. You see, David Talbot is a fan of Marius' art."

Jesse moved closer to Spike. "I told him last week, when I met a vampire from your race who was from Los Angeles. He told us about your sire, and then I remembered your message to Lestat."

"And I thought now would be as good a time to renew our acquaintance as ever," Lestat said, clapping Spike on the shoulder.

Spike looked at Buffy. "Could I get a raincheck on the evening's festivities?"

"Um...I was going to ask if I could come with you," Buffy asked, looking at Lestat in awe. "I mean, it isn't often I get to meet a famous...person. Vampire. Whatever."

Lestat laughed. "Of course. I would love to learn more about the Slayer who escaped death and strikes fear in the hearts of many."

"How did you...?"

Spike shook his head, touching Buffy's shoulder. "You get used to him being a cocky bastard."

"I may be cocky, but I am not a bastard. I know damn well who my father was," Lestat said, looking at Spike.

"You know what I meant," Spike said. "Come on. There's a place we can go to, a certain bench," he added, winking at Jesse.

Jesse laughed, taking Lestat's free hand. "Yes. Let's go sit and talk for a while."

Lestat shook his head. "You win, the both of you." Lestat and Jesse walked forward, leaving Spike and Buffy a few steps behind.

"Come on love," Spike said, taking Buffy's hand. "He won't bite. Promise."


End file.
